‘Mr Bhushan left his office at 5 o’clock sharp. It was time for tea and a dish of hot, fresh paneer pakoras. As he walked down the gravel path to his house, a strange sight met his protruding eyes. On the verandah were Mrs Bhushan and the maidservant, a bucket of water between them, and they were giving a bath to—surely it wasn’t a donkey?’

What compares to the feeling of coming home to a wagging tail, enthusiastic barks and long sloppy licks? Or to the purring of a cat sleeping on your belly? It is the four-legged friends that bring out the child in us. No matter how bleak a day, how grey an evening or how bland a week, it is these friends that add color to life! In Mrs Bhushan to the Rescue, with the story titled the same that has never appeared in print before, Ruskin Bond brings us a mixed bag of stories. From furry friends to finding yourself to be your biggest ally—these are stories about characters that turn an otherwise grey life into bright, sunny hues.